Pirates off the coasts of Somalia have hijacked a commercial vessel for the first time in 18 months, raising fears of a resurgence of armed attacks along the coasts of Somalia.

A Malta-flagged tanker heading from Sikka, India, to Durban, South Africa, is targeted by suspected Somali pirates.

Piracy off the Somali coast peaked in 2011, when 237 attacks were reported. Somali piracy in the region in 2011 cost the world’s economy some $7 billion, with $160 million paid out in ransoms, according to the Oceans Beyond Piracy monitoring group.

Attackers firing machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades boarded a ship, en route to South Africa from India, off the coast of Somalia on Thursday